Should you buy an iPad credit card reader?

Swipe-and-go credit card readers enable a person with an iPad to sell his or her wares right on the spot -- maybe even right on the street. Is this product perfect for you and your business? Test your knowledge with this quiz.

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Question 1 of 20

Which of the following is not a popular iPad credit card processing app?

Square

Inner Fence

Card Me

Square is the market leader. Card Me is what 30-somethings hope will happen in a bar.

Question 2 of 20

After you click "charge" on an iPad credit card reader, where is the first place the data is transmitted?

the customer's credit card company

radio tower

There are many links in this transmission chain, the first of which is to a cell phone radio tower.

relay station

Question 3 of 20

What currently provides the most security risk for iPad credit card customers?

Until 2011, mobile credit card apps cost upwards of $20 to download. Now they're almost always free on the front end.

FALSE

Question 5 of 20

True or false: To accept credit card payments in any format requires the hardware of a plug-in credit card swiper.

TRUE

FALSE

This is a bit of a trick question. A credit card swiper makes handling payments much easier, but most apps still allow you to type in credit card numbers by hand.

Question 6 of 20

Generally, what is the price range you should expect to pay for a plug-in credit card swiper to accompany your iPad credit card reader app?

It's free.

Most apps will send you the hardware for free.

Under a dollar

$1 to $10

Question 7 of 20

An iPad credit card app that charges a registration fee and monthly premium for unlimited sales would be best for which of the following businesses?

a high-end art gallery

a low-end street vendor

Paying a monthly fee may allow you to save per transaction and percentage fees, making it best for a business that deals in volume -- for example, a low-end street vendor.

a psychology practice with 10 weekly clients

Question 8 of 20

An app that charges a per-transaction fee and a percentage of each sale would be best for which of the following businesses?

a high-end art gallery

a low-end street vendor

a psychology practice with 10 weekly clients

If your number of sales and total haul is low enough, you might be better off paying a per-transaction fee, rather than a monthly cost. The answer is a psychology practice with few clients.

Question 9 of 20

An app that allows vendors to buy bundles of 20 transactions for a one-time cost of $9.99 would be best for which of the following businesses?

a high-end art gallery

If you own an art gallery, where people pay more than $1,000 per purchase, you'd be better off not paying a percentage for processing. And with infrequent sales, a bundle may allow you to duck monthly fees.

a low-end street vendor

a psychology practice with 10 weekly clients

Question 10 of 20

Carnegie Mellon behavioral economist George Loewenstein said what of credit cards (compared to cash)?

It anesthetizes the pain of paying.

In a 2007 paper published in the journal Neuron, Loewenstein showed that paying with credit cards is literally less painful than paying with cash.

Cards are more secure than cash.

Both will be replaced by iPad payments.

Question 11 of 20

Which of the following is not a common feature of iPad credit card processing applications?

What security certification should you require of your iPad credit card reader app?

PCI DSS

STAP

PCI DSS stands for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards. The remaining answer choices are acronyms taken from the Star Wars universe and include Single Troop Aerial Platform and New Republic Intelligence.